The Ugly Side of Intramuros

Graffiti and [rabid?] unleashed dogs. This isn't some compound in a Manila suburb. This is Intramuros.

Intramuros is perhaps Manila's only real tourist destination (EDIT: oh wait, there's Luneta, too) and yet the place is surprisingly unkempt. Most of the reviews I've read from Trip Advisor are generally positive, and I feel that I may have ventured off the usual tourist trail.

[Unintentionaly] Gatecrashing on a Carlos Celdran Tour

Standing barely five feet tall, a stout man with receding hair and wearing unassuming clothes was staging what looked like an public repertoire. He would strut around the monument of Rizal with a pipe in hand, speaking in his oratorical voice, even shouting in several occasions. But this wasn't a play or a monologue - it was part of a tour of Intramuros by Carlos Celdran. I have known him as Manila's quintessential tour guide and as an activist for gay rights, the RH Law, among other causes. We were just walking around Fort Santiago, marveling albeit cluelessly at the ruins around us. To see him on one of his tours was an unexpected opportunity I thought we shouldn't miss.

Sony Waterproof Walkman Review

Photo courtesy of the Sony Store website. 

I thought a waterproof mp3 player might make my running and swimming a little less boring, so I bought myself one.

The Anatomy of Poor Swimming Form

I've long wanted to take a video of myself swimming, but never actually did for fear of getting curious stares from people in a public pool. While I was taking formal swimming lessons I have constantly received nothing but encouraging comments from my swim instructor, specifically, that my stroke and kick were okay and that endurance is the only thing I need to work with. When the lessons ended I have relied on Youtube videos to supposedly improve my form and have always thought that I do exactly as the videos say. In short, I've always thought I was a good swimmer. Then during an out-of-town trip with schoolmates at a private resort in Laguna I finally had the opportunity to take a video of myself. The pool wasn't intended for laps, of course, but is was long enough for my purpose.

For the first time, I finally know how I exactly swim - just bad.

Second Semester Challenge

Wisdom from 9gag. How profound.

Just six months ago I wrote down my goals for the first semester on a piece of paper. I intended to post the list in my desktop as a constant reminder but I misplaced it and didn't bother to make another one. The six months passed and I have now come to the bitter realization that I have achieved nothing as far as my goals are concerned.

I want this semester to be different.

Video of Taal Volcano Dayhike

While rummaging through old files I found footage of our hike in Taal Volcano. I pieced the clips together using Youtube's Video Editor which I found to be useful and intuitive. Forgive the background music, Youtube only allows the use of stock audio; you might as well just turn the volume down.

There are 101 reasons why this video is awful and I don't know why I'm even posting it here. EDIT: Because it took me an hour to make the video, haha. There are no labels except the title, and I left all but one of the original clips untrimmed.

How an Aquaphobic* Wimp Learned How to Swim

Marikina Sports Complex - one of my favorite places for training.

I never had the opportunity to learn how to swim as a child. As my trips to mountains (many of which have falls and rivers) and beaches became more frequent, I realized that my inability to swim is preventing me from enjoying my travels to the fullest. I was always that lone guy by the shore, splashing water and playing with the sand, afraid to go farther.

Youtube's Video Stabilization Feature

I just recently discovered a feature on Youtube that stabilizes shaky videos.

Below is the unedited video which was taken while on a bumpy tricycle ride:

Here's the edited video where I also applied the "auto-fix" feature which improves the color.

I didn't expect the outcome to be as crisp as the original one. For most of us who only have ordinary digicams mounted on our shaky hands - this feature should come very handy. Here's an explanation of the technical details behind the stabilization.

A Year into Mountaineering: Hits and Misses, Lessons and Stories - Draft

A beetle struggles on a blade of grass, the same way we struggle on the trail.
A cloud-capped Bulusan Volcano stands on the background.

I wanted to say that there are two kinds of mountaineers - those who blog and tell a story, and those who just climb and make no big deal out of it. It doesn't take long to realize that this sort of classification isn't accurate. The latter species do not exist - it takes ones heart to pursue a hobby that is not only physically taxing but financially as well; mountaineering is a big deal. British explorer Dave Nixon ones said that the whole idea of old-fashioned mountaineering is "to get there and get back in one piece, and tell the great story at the end of it". The story comes in the form of blogs, of facebook albums and attempts to share the story even with friends who probably do not care. Regardless of the form, anyone who climbs has stories to tell. Secretly, even, there's pride from doing something that most people can't or won't.

Kibungan Circuit

The view that greeted us just a few meters from the jump off point.

Benguet is a mountaineer's paradise - there's just mountains in all directions. It is but fitting that that province was chosen for out group's first anniversary climb. The three-day/two-night trek across the rugged landscapes of Kibungan, Benguet took us to three peaks in the circuit, namely Mount Tagpaya with it's knife-edge peak, the curiously-named Mt. Oten and finally Mt. Tagpew. The trail is comparable to that of Akiki in Mount Pulag, but there's so much more than the usual trek across pine trees that is characteristic of hikes in the Cordilleras.

Mt. Napulak Muddy and Rainy Dayhike

It was raining heavily the night before our climb. At the back of my mind I wondered what our plans would be if there's a typhoon - should we going back to Iloilo City and spend the rest of the day visiting churches and museums? Thankfully, however, the rain subsided by morning. With a slight drizzle above our heads, we started hiking at around 6AM, wadding across muddy rice fields. Our guides assured us that the mountain slopes will not be as muddy.

Mt Isarog via Panicuason Trail

View on the peak of Mt. Isarog. Mayon Volcano could have been visible, if not for the fog and clouds.
Picture taken from Cecille Fulgar's Facebook album

Isarog doesn't ring a bell to many mountaineers, and even for many Bicolanos. This dormant volcano is one less-trodden paradise (which is a good thing, in a way). You won't find Mt. Isarog souvenir shirts or key chains anywhere in Naga City, where ironically, the most common ones feature Mayon Volcano (which is from a different province!) or the CWC. This foretold what Isarog's treat for us would be - a hike through lush and almost virgin rain forest. The trail was moderately difficult (6/9 on my scale) - a long "obstacle course", with plenty of crawling, clinging to roots and branches, etc. It's like an extended version of the old trail in Arayat, with a verdant mossy forest as a bonus. Our adventure ends with a side trip to Malabsay Falls, frequented by locals and is close to the jump off point.

Cabo Beach, Burgos, Pangasinan

Cabo/Cabongaoan Beach is a perfect respite for those looking for an unspoiled DIY destination. I bet hardly anyone is familiar with the place - hidden in a remote fishing village in Pangasinan, it is at least 30 km from Alaminos, Pangasinan as the crow flies*! The sand is coarse and orange-ish, and the shoreline, I figure, is twice as long as that of Kwebang Lampas.

Kwebang Lampas, Pagbilao, Quezon

Kwebang Lampas in Pagbilao, Quezon is one of the beaches I wouldn't mind going back to over and over again. The trip is cheap, the water is clear and the sand is (almost) white. Besides, I had zero swimming skills when I first got there, and I wanted these "skills" to be tested. As luck had it, it was sunny during our entire stay even if PAGASA forecasted some "isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms".

Kalinawan Cave and Daranak Falls

This trip was irresistible for one main reason - the estimated expenses was only P250. Besides, it was summer, I had nowhere to go and I was dying to take a dip somewhere.

Beachbumming in Masasa, Tingloy, Batangas

The shoreline of Masasa. A cave is visible at the far right.

There's nothing not to love about Masasa Beach. Hidden in the peaceful island-town of Tingloy in Batangas, this beach is largely untouched by commercialization. There's no entrance fee, and you're free to roam around and do as you please. The shoreline is made up of white sand and broken corals. The corals found not far from the shore are great for snorkeling. Too bad we didn't have an underwater camera, but I'd say the corals are even more varied and colorful than those I saw in Calaguas. Two prominent features of the beach are the cave (which makes a great shelter from the sun, visible in the photo above) and the rock formation which was turned into a stairway (perfect for photo ops!).

Uber Fun Taal Volcano Dayhike

Here's a bit of fact you probably do not know: that volcano looking thing at the back side of the P50 bill isn't Taal Volcano itself - it's technically part of the volcano but it's not where the main crater is. It's called Binintiang Malaki (Big Leg), a dormant crater which was the center of the 1707 and 1715 eruptions. It sits on the edge of Volcano Island, and at present, no established trail leads to its crater because of its steep slopes. The main attraction in the island, the main crater which has a lake in the middle is further inward. An small island sits in the middle of the crater lake - and this is what our tourism ads refer to as an island within a lake (the crater lake), within an island (the Volcano Island) within a lake (Taal Lake), which is within an island (Luzon).

I Left My Heart in Calaguas

This awful picture doesn't give justice to how white and powdery the sand is.

I have long lusted over stories of Calaguas from friends who have been there. Their stories sound like cliches from a tourism pamphlet and told of a long stretch of powdery white sand, crystal clear waters, a paradise. Having been there myself, I couldn't agree agree less.

Finally, the Peak of the Beak at Pico de Loro

Not everyone who goes to Pico de Loro actually makes it to the peak of the monolith, also known to mountaineers as the Parrot's Beak, and I was in fact one of them. And for obvious reasons - the monolith is imposing and while not exactly towering, it is completely vertical. It appears as though getting to the peak requires professional rock climbing skills, if not reckless courage. I proved it all wrong when I finally made it to the peak.

The Heartache that was Bulusan

Team Bulusan: Pau, Adel, John, Ruth, Aris, Sir Frank, Analene, Gen, Me, JB

This was perhaps, the longest, continuous travel I ever took on a single vehicle. I crouched on a cramped bus seat, feeling a plethora of unpleasant sensations - hunger, boredom, numbness. We have already reached the province of Sorsogon - a butt-aching ride of 14 hours, but Irosin was still two hours away. I couldn't count how many times I uttered, "Ang tagal naman!" I was so relieved when we finally arrived in Irosin that I wanted to kiss the ground.

Journey to Mt. HibokHibok, Camiguin: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Uh oh, dark clouds.

We were supposed to climb Mt. Apo on December 26, 2012. Everything seemed to have been set, I‘ve arranged a guide and two other hikers have responded to my facebook invite. Then an unwanted guest named "tropical depression Quinta" came and it was but prudent to cancel the climb. There’s no way, I thought, that I’m leaving Mindanao without scaling a single summit. After New Year the skies appear to have cleared up so I eagerly scheduled a trip to Camiguin to climb the famed Mt. HibokHibok. Again, everything was set – guides and all. Then typhoon Auring came, a little too early. I started to feel that my buttocks are one huge Mongolian blue spot [haha, Google that!].